The girl was taken into police custody because people were “teasing her on the street,” according to local media.

“The minor was given a police jacket to cover herself and taken to the Family and Child Protection department,” Haneef said.

“Police explained to her about how her dress should be as well as called her parents and advised them regarding this. She was not arrested and is not being charged or penalised. We were not concerned with her dress, just with the nudity. We don’t want [this to go to] court,” he added.

Haneef emphasised that the issue in question was upholding societal norms and values and if anyone witnesses someone violating those standards they should report them to the police.

“If someone is not meeting these expectations they can be arrested, but it is very rare. It depends on a case by case basis,” explained Haneef.

“Anyone can dress with nudity, even in plain clothes, if they are showing any personal, private parts and society does not accept that,” an anonymous police official told Minivan News.

“She was very, very, very, very naked. Her dress was transparent,” the official added.

While the Anti-social Behavior Act in the Maldives lists specific offences that could be considered antisocial behavior, dress codes in public are not dealt with in the law passed by parliament in 2010.

Offences that could be considered anti-social behaviour are specified in articles five through 14 of the law, including harassing people on the streets (article 6(a)).

Other offences include harassing or intimidating neighbours, exhibitionism, damaging personal property, spraying graffiti on walls, putting up posters and banners without permission, playing loud music and leaving garbage bags on the roads.

13 comments:

Is she wore that dress in India, she'd be grabbed and gang-raped in broad daylight, regardless whether she's 5 year old or 35 year old.It's good to see Maldives' Islamic culture has things under control.

I assume this article is supposed make us think how terrible and backward the Maldives are, but I think it is very reasonable. I wish the women in the west had the taste / self-respect to cover themselves decently. They use their sexuality as a weapon which they shoot all over the place indiscriminately - like whores - when it should be for the husband and the home. Many appear to have no basic modesty or sense of what is appropriate. Then they are surprised when they are treated like the streetwalkers they resemble and end up alone and, perhaps, childless.

So many are terribly deceived. If they would only behave and dress with modesty and refuse to behave like whores (actually, unpaid ones, by sleeping with "boyfriends" before marriage) their chances of getting married and stable home life would increase. Why would a man pay for what he can get for free?

Anyway, good on Maldives. And I hope this young woman will learn the right lessons from this.

I have been to Male in on the tour my wife was told that showing too much and dressing inappropriately is deemed offensive. I think sometimes we have to respect the culture that we are in, if they find it offensive (no matter if we think it is silly or not) we must respect that.

Jesus so many ignorant, insecure, pathetic males posting above. Let me guess you are all Asian, or Middle Eastern, sad little Muslim men who are so lacking in intelligence or personal prowess, that they feel better if women are controlled. I pity you sad men.

The" culture" that young people try to copy comes from movies and magazines. These images are everywhere and they influence how young people dress to try and be fashionable. Don't blame the young person. You need to put the blame squarely where it belongs and that is the movie culture and the advertisements that are used to lure people into buying so called "trendy" fashion.Even in the"Arab world "where women are repressed they are still subject to these same images even if it's wearing them "under the Burka". And, when women are not accessible, men are also sleeping with their" boyfriends" before marriage.

Agree with most of the comments; women do not need to be naked to look beautiful.

It is really a shame that a lot Western woman have been forced (by Zionist media) to lose their morals and dressing provocatively. Even young children are been forced into this with the availability of 'slutty' clothes from Zio childrens wear outlets.

AMEN to the Police. They were protecting her from professional sluts like Madonna and the Khardasians who make money by MISleading the youth. The afore named should have to finance rehab AND child support for the young girls led astray by their examples. Take the PROFIT out of Madonna and the Khardasians prostituting.

Somehow I believe the problem here starts with the name of that city... :D

Peeps, dress like you feel you have to dress and to express what you want to express. Don't be ignorant but also don't ever let anybody make you believe that the way you dress justifies other people's bad actions. Because it doesn't. Never.

It's strange, we now teach women how to avoided being raped, we have laws so they dress in a manner which will stop men wanting to rape her, we educate women that the bodies they were born with are powerful weapons that incite rape. We do not say ITS WRONG TO RAPE? Why do we not say that men should control themselves as it is WRONG TO RAPE? It's very very tiring aspect of human sexuality, religion and patriarchal society.Here's hoping that the evolution of humankind doesn't end with the opposable thumb.